Faithful Death
by Bleak December
Summary: Oneshot. Hermione still has faith in Snape after the death of Dumbledore, and she tries to convince him he still has a choice.


**Faithful Death**

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nor am I making any money, blah blah blah.

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My faith in him was legendary. Ever since the funeral and I spied him off in the shadows, I knew. Up until that moment, I had let my overbearing emotions blind my sense, and overpower my logic. But as I sat in the pew next to Harry and Ron during the eulogy for Dumbledore, something made me look around. His disguise was expertly cast, and nobody would have seen him if they hadn't been looking for him. I don't know why it was that I was drawn to that little clump of bushes in the shadows, but I saw him. Why would he be here, I had thought. He was the most wanted man at the moment, and if anyone at the funeral had discovered his whereabouts he would be dead in a second. Why hadn't I turned him in right then and there? Because why would he be here mourning Dumbledore's death if he had no remorse? And if he had remorse, then there was still hope for him. He wasn't completely lost.

It was only a few days after the funeral that I told Harry and Ron my thoughts on Severus Snape. In retrospect, that might have been a wrong decision. Harry, bless him, was infuriated at the notion that Snape might not be as evil as he believed, and Ron was his loyal sidekick in the matter. It was this argument that ended any relationship Ron and I had, or would have had. Harry branded me as a traitor, and tried to get me kicked out of the Order of the Phoenix for supporting Dumbledore's murderer. I had made it clear that I did not support him, rather that I had faith in him. There was a difference, but my friends refused to see it. Because I retained valuable and dangerous information, the Order wasn't able to discharge me, but I was not allowed to attend any meetings after word got out.

I did research in my spare time. I researched Snape's family and background (what little of it I could find), and I consoled Dumbledore's painting, which had woken up about a month after the funeral. It was very disappointing when his portrait said nothing about his previous life, though I would regularly return to see if he let anything regarding Snape slip.

After four months of searching, and, consequently, four months of being shunned by my friends, I at last discovered Severus Snape's current location. I resolved to go there at night and alone. I really had no choice, since if anyone knew I would be visiting him, they would kill him on the spot. No, I had to go alone, and no one must know I'm leaving. It was a foolhardy plan, but it was the only sensible one, too. I wanted no Aurors or Order members there to muck up everything I had worked so hard for.

So at eleven fifteen during a night of July, I Apparated a block away from his home. After arriving at the front door, I withdrew my wand from my robes, sticking it up my sleeves for easy access. The door opened a crack once I knocked three times, but I couldn't see anyone through the small opening. "Professor Snape?" I asked hesitantly. Through the door, I heard his unmistakable voice.

"What do you want, Miss Granger?" came the tired tone.

I hesitated. What was it that I had come to him for, anyway? To let him know that I still had faith in him? To try and win him back to the Light? "I want to talk with you," I finally said. There was a long moment of silence between us, but the door remained slightly ajar. For a short while, I thought he might have simply walked away, but then he responded.

"There's nothing to discuss. If you came to kill me, then I suggest you make good use of the time now."

"I have no desire to kill you," I frowned. I heard him sigh dramatically.

"Of course. You still retain the thought that I am salvageable. I've heard all about your quest for my clearance, and how it cost you your friends and position within the Order. I must say that I am deeply disappointed in you. You had shown some semblance of intelligence when I knew you, but this display of simplicity leaves me to believe you've taken after Potter. So I ask you again: What to you want, Miss Granger?"

"I want nothing from you...Merely a few minutes of your time. I may be able to help you, who knows? I have spent the last four months trying to prove not your innocence, but your integrity. I remain firm in my belief that you are a good man..."

"Even after all that I've done to prove the contrary?"

"Yes!" I sighed exasperatedly.

"That Gryffindor stubbornness will get you into trouble someday," he said quietly.

"Would you please let me in?" I pleaded. After a short moment, the door opened further, just enough to allow me entry. Once I was in, it closed behind me. The room was pitch dark until he lit several lamps. He looked terrible, which suited the quarters he lived in, for they weren't any better. It was clear that he wasn't eating well, and his sickly appearance was even more thin and sallow than I had remembered.

There were two worn couches in the living room with a moth-eaten rug covering the wooden floor in front of a very dirty fireplace, which didn't appear to have been used. Crumpled in the corner I identified a heavy black robe, and sitting on top of it was a white mask. No surprise there, but it was still a sight to instill fear. I seated myself stiffly on one of the sofas, mindful of the rips with the stuffing protruding out. He also sat on the sofa opposite me, and looked tense.

He looked to where I was staring at his Death Eater attire, and smirked back at me. "Tell me, Miss Granger," he said patronizingly. "What do you fear? Is it my presence? My status as a Death Eater? Or do you fear what I can do to you?"

My eyes snapped back to him. I kept my cool and replied calmly, "I'm not afraid of you." I saw him raise an amused eyebrow. "I'm afraid _for_ _you_."

That obviously threw him. His expression was dumbstruck and confused, and he looked away quickly to regain composure. When he turned back to me, his eyes were narrowed shrewdly, and his black eyes glittered dangerously. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

My calm was rapidly wearing off, and I ducked my head to look at the hands folded in my lap as a chance to hide my nervousness. Taking time to organize thoughts in my head, I answered slowly. "I have faith in you, Severus. You have saved our lives more times than I can count, you've risked your life by spying for the Order, and risked it by protecting the interests of the Light. After all of this, you deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the death of Dumbledore."

His back stiffened, and I stood up, walking over to stand in front of the fireplace, staring into the black ashes.

My back was to him, but I continued speaking. "I saw you there at his funeral, and that told me that you still respected him, and that you regretted his death." At this, I finally turned around to face him, discovering that he, too, had stood up and was now standing near a wall. "I have faith that you are a good man, and that you could come back to our side. I fear for you, Severus, in that you might feel you have no choice. And that you might choose to remain a Death Eater. I have no fear for my own safety, because I have faith in you." My head bowed and I turned to lean on the fireplace.

Snape stalked up to stand before me, his hands clasped behind his back as he towered over my short stature. "You remind me so much of Albus," he said, but his voice left it clear that this was no compliment. "Always assuming the best in people. So quick to forgive and forget. Have you considered that I may have already made my choice? That there is no hope for me?"

"There is always hope, Severus."

He snarled viciously, though it wasn't directed at me, and ran his hand through oily black hair. "Perhaps I _wanted_ to kill Albus! Perhaps I was tired of being under his foot all the time!"

"I find it hard to believe you'd rather be under the foot of You Know Who instead," I said cynically. This only angered him further, but still the anger wasn't directed at me.

"Don't claim to know me, Hermione! What's to keep you from believing I'm a devout Death Eater?"

"My Gryffindor stubbornness, I suppose."

Snape squeezed his eyes shut, and he kept his hands behind his back. "You can leave, now."

"I'm not leaving until you understand that I'm here for you, I support you, and that I have faith in you to make the right decision." I reached forward and placed my hand on his arm lightly, which made his eyes open and stare into mine. I put all my sincerity into my expression as I concluded. "I trust you, Severus, and I'll never give up on you."

For a while we just held each other's gazes, his was emotionless, while mine was fused with concern and honesty. I was desperate to receive some kind of sign that he had heard or understood me, and I gently squeezed his arm. That small gesture must have brought him to his senses, for his eyes suddenly hardened and grew cold. I dropped my hand from his arm instinctively, but never let my eyes leave his.

At that moment, the door opened, and a tall woman framed herself in the doorway. When I turned my head, I recognized her as Bellatrix Lestrange...the second most wanted Death Eater next to Snape. Her sadism was infamous, and it was no wonder I felt a small twinge of fear run through my spine. She strode arrogantly into the room and stood in front of us with a malicious smirk.

"Mudbloods, Snape? I didn't know you lowered yourself to this level of companionship. The Dark Lord won't be pleased with this, you know."

Severus began to reply, but was cut off by Bellatrix.

"The Dark Lord sent me to fetch you. There's something going on that he needs your advice on, and he requires your presence." She turned to give me a once-over with a condemning face. "And get rid of this before you do."

The woman walked towards the door behind me to leave, and I turned to follow her movements. I didn't trust my back to this witch. When I was facing her, I heard Snape speak behind me.

"Don't worry, Bellatrix. I was just about to do so."

Looking back over my shoulder, I saw the flash of steel just as it happened. Severus had been holding a knife behind his back the entire time, and it now was stabbed deeply into my side. Shock prevented me from screaming with pain...instead I let out a surprised gasp.

Bellatrix smirked as she waited in the doorway, watching me stagger to the wall and slowly sliding down it into a sitting position.

Snape approached me and knelt down to my level. The knife was still stuck in me, and he apparently wanted it back. His eyes held an unusual expression...not quite regret, not quite confusion, but neither did it have satisfaction or amusement. It almost had a quality of contemplation. Severus looked into my sad gaze.

With some effort, and out of Bellatrix's ear-range, I whispered to him. "It was worth it," I breathed shakily.

His eyes widened, and his eyes roamed over my pathetic form shaking on the floor. "Why?" he asked incredulously.

I gasped as a fresh wave of pain engulfed me. Gritting my teeth, I answered with a small smile. "Call it my Gryffindor stubbornness."

Severus' expression changed from disbelieving shock to naked amazement and horror. An impatient cough from the doorway alerted him to Bellatrix's presence, who was still waiting for him to follow her.

"Come on, Snape, the Dark Lord doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Her voice broke his concentration, and his face turned back into a cold mask. He rose up from his crouched position in front of me and walked over to the corner of the room. Snape picked up his Death Eater garb and walked back over to Bellatrix.

As he passed me, I whispered my last words to him. "I have faith in you, Severus." He stopped in his walking with a sharp inhale of breath, but then continued to the door. The last look on his face before the door was closed and they Apparated away, was when he looked to me with a considering look. Then he bowed his head and they were gone.

The last thoughts that ran through my mind before my eyes turned glassy and I breathed no more, was that I was positive my life hadn't been wasted.

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_Author's Notes:_ Dark, depressing, and angsty. I'm feeling moody today, and this is what popped out. The story was inspired by avery's "Against the Wall" at Ashwinder, but I still claim the plot.

Please R/R, thanks!


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